Define "ugly direction."

I will stand with the Muslims should the political winds shift in an ugly direction.

~ The Audacity of Hope, By Barack Obama.

Which leads to the question, "How do you define 'ugly'?"

As usual, Mr. Obama is short on the details, which is no small omission given the widespread discussion of his allegiance(s), that new photo of him decked out in Muslim garb in Kenya, and the mortal threat to the West that Islam poses (or rather the mortal threat to the West posed by the West's feeble response to the execrable Islam).

If the winds shift in an ugly direction because American public opinion is outraged over some new Muslim atrocity, or simply begins to get on board with the idea that Islam is a mortal threat, is that the situation that will impel Obama to side with the Muslims?

Will Obama consider it an "ugly" situation if U.S. citizens clamor for laws and policies hostile to Muslim interests?

The picture nearby calls to mind the criticism of Mr. Bush some time ago that he appears "tone deaf" to certain of the fundamental concerns of the American people. Considering the sensitivity of the topic of Islam in America and Mr. Obama's great education, intelligence, and political savvy, does not this picture show a fascination with and openness to matters Muslim on the part of Obama that renders him similarly tone deaf? JFK declined to wear a Native American headdress while campaigning. Why would Obama take this kind of a political risk?

Is it simply that he is greatly enamored of his Muslim roots?

I understand anyone who is enamored of his roots. However, it's a matter of concern to me that someone like Obama mentions no appreciation of the danger of Islam, is fascinated by it on purely a personal level, and appears willing to allow his personal fascination, despite all other considerations, to influence him in determining appropriate policies with regard to the Islamic threat in the future.

More power to Obama if he's thinking of anti-Muslim riots as being an "ugly direction." My preliminary assumption, alas, absent further clarification from him, is that any measure designed to hinder the spread of Islam in the West is going to meet the criterion of "ugly direction" for B. Hussein Obama.

“Audacity of Hope,” or Audacity? By Andrew Bostom, 2/25/08.